Market Recap of the Week of May 10, 2026 - May 17, 2026

Overall Market Trends:

The majority of the stock market fell from all-time highs, with three of the four major indices seeing declines. The New York Stock Exchange Composite (NYSE) dipped 123 points on the week (-0.54%), the NASDAQ Composite pulled back 277 points (+1.12%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a weekly loss of 67 points (-0.14%). The S&P 500 barely etched out a win, gaining 12 points (+0.16%).

Stocks edged higher Monday as the AI and chip trade kept the market afloat despite Trump rejecting Iran's latest peace proposal and calling the ceasefire "on life support." Micron (NASDAQ: MU) extended its run, adding another 6.5%, and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) jumped nearly 2%. WTI climbed 2.78% to $98.07 and Brent gained 2.88% to $104.20 after Trump said Tehran's counteroffer was "totally unacceptable." Iran's latest proposal demanded war reparations, full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the release of frozen assets, and the lifting of sanctions.

Tech came under pressure Tuesday as a hotter-than-expected inflation print reminded traders that the Iran war's energy impact was starting to show up in the numbers. April CPI came in at 3.8% annually, above the 3.7% estimate and the highest reading since May 2023. Micron gave back 3.6% after its monster run, and AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) dropped 2% and 11%, respectively. WTI jumped another 4.19% to $102.18 and Brent settled up 3.42% at $107.77 as ceasefire fears kept oil bid.

Records fell again Wednesday as chip stocks shrugged off another ugly inflation print and ran higher anyway. April PPI came in at 1.4% on the month, the biggest monthly jump since March 2022 and well above the 0.5% estimate, with wholesale inflation gaining 6% annually. It didn't matter much for tech. Nvidia added over 2%, Micron gained more than 4%, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SMH) climbed 2%. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joining Trump on his trip to China to meet Xi fueled optimism that U.S. chip sales into Chinese markets could open back up. About two-thirds of the S&P 500 finished in the red on the day, with Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) among the names that came under pressure.

The Dow punched back above 50,000 Thursday after Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) surged 13% on a blowout earnings report and job cut announcement, and Nvidia jumped more than 4% after Reuters reported the U.S. cleared roughly 10 Chinese firms to purchase its H200 chips. The S&P 500 crossed 7,500 for the first time. Trump and Xi also agreed during their Beijing summit that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, which gave sentiment a nudge. Cisco, Nvidia, and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the Dow lately, up 47%, 30%, and 28% respectively over the past two months.

Tech got hit with a wave of profit-taking on Friday after the Trump-Xi summit wrapped without any major policy breakthroughs. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) fell more than 6%, AMD and Micron dropped 5.7% and 6.6%, and Nvidia shed 4.4%. Cerebras Systems (NASDAQ: CBRS), which had surged 68% Thursday on its Nasdaq debut, gave back 10%. Treasury yields spiked, with the 30-year topping 5.1%, adding more pressure to high-growth names after a week of hot inflation data. WTI rose 4.2% to $105.42 and Brent settled up 3.35% to $109.26 after Trump told Fox News he was "not going to be much more patient" with Iran. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) was a bright spot, gaining 3% after Bill Ackman revealed Pershing Square had built a position in the stock.

Source: CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel)

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